A Dream Worth Keeping
by impression
Summary: Taito slashy goodness! Well, it's also kinda Sorato, but that goes away because I don't like Sora. Completed!!
1. Part 1

A Dream Worth Keeping: Part 1  
by Minako  
  
I most definitely do not own Digimon, though I'm quite the fangirl, so  
I don't own Taichi or anyone. (damn, too bad)  
  
The song A Dream Worth Keeping is performed by Sheena Easton in the  
movie Ferngully ^_^  
  
I gave up on sticking with one name, Japanese or English, so deal with  
it ^_^ This is a buncha different pairings all at once, Taito mainly -  
we'll stick with Taito as the theme ^_^  
  
*******  
  
I had a dream once, and I've never forgotten it. It was back  
when we all lived in the Digital World, we being my friends and I. I  
guess I couldn't really forget anything from that time, but how likely  
is it that I'd remember one dream?   
  
You see, at the time, I was only eleven, or maybe I was  
twelve... boy, for the most memorable experience of my life, I sure  
have blurred the edges of it, huh? Anyway, like I was saying, I was  
only eleven or twelve, and this dream really freaked me out. It was  
about my best friend... and he wasn't even really my best friend at the  
time. In fact, all we ever did was fight. We hated each other, but  
we're friends now - that was something like five or six years ago.  
  
Anyway, I'm getting to the point, I swear. You see, in my  
dream we were more than just friends or enemies, we were...  
well... dating - boyfriend and boyfriend. The dream freaked me out.  
I was so young and... well, I'd never thought of another boy like that  
before. It threw my world perspective all out of whack.   
  
At first, I wrote it off as just a weird dream, but as I  
watched him, I realized that there was more to it than that, I would  
notice little things. The exact colour of his eyes, the way he walked.  
He had a little scar on his left shoulder. He always used to wear tank  
tops, so no, I didn't get a shirtless view.  
  
I kept noticing these little things about him, and after  
awhile, I learned to accept it... I was gay. So I watched him, and  
his passing girlfriends, and fangirls, and even when he and Sora  
became close.   
  
Sora... I feel bad for the way I used to treat her, always  
leading her along, but never letting anything actually happen between  
us. In all the years I've known her, we've never been on a single date,  
can you believe that? She hated me for a while, after I got up the nerve  
to tell her that is. More like let my mouth work before my brain, but  
that's not the point.  
  
It was near the end of junior high school, actually, I think  
it was the end, yeah, I guess it was. And she was trying to convince  
me to ask her to the end of year dance, and I knew that was what she  
was trying to do... but I couldn't bring myself to ask her. It felt  
so wrong, and I didn't even want to think of why. This is while I was  
still in denial, of course. So I avoided it, and avoided it, until one  
day, she just blew up at me.  
  
*******  
  
"How thick headed are you, you jerk!"   
  
I was surprised at her sudden outburst, it seemed so random to  
me. "Hey, Sora... nice to see you too, what's wrong?"   
  
This just seemed to double her anger. "WHAT'S WRONG!? What do  
you THINK is wrong? The Last Dance is in less than a week and you STILL  
haven't asked me to it!"   
  
I was speechless. Confrontation time, the one thing I'd been  
avoiding for weeks. "Sora... I..."  
  
"Don't you start! Excuses! That's all you ever have for me! If  
you don't want to be with me, just tell me, don't drag me along like  
this! Let me find someone else, don't leave me hoping!" She stopped  
her rant to breathe, in long shuddering gasps, tears slowly running  
down her cheeks. I felt awful, I really did... she was one of my best  
friends... How could I stand to hurt her anymore than I already had?  
What could I do?  
  
It occurred to me that the only thing I could do was tell her the truth.  
  
"I'm sorry... Sora... I really am... but... I can't... date  
you..."   
  
"Why..." She forced out, her voice cracking as she tried to say  
the one word.  
  
"Sora... I... I don't know how to say this."  
  
"Say WHAT? That you hate me? Go ahead! I can deal with it! Just  
tell me whatever it is and stop leaving me hanging, I can't take it  
anymore."  
  
"Sora, I don't hate you, I never could, you're one of my  
closest friends... but... I..." I took a deep breath, "Sora, I'm gay."  
  
Shock slowly spread across Sora's face as the words registered. It made  
it's way across mine shortly after. I couldn't believe I'd finally said  
it to someone. It was the one thing I'd wondered about since that time  
in the Digital World, but I'd never been able to decide whether I was  
one way or the other.  
  
"Gay... oh gods... why didn't I think of it..." She turned away  
from me. "It explains so much..."   
  
I figured that since I'd dug myself into the ditch, I may as  
well try to explain myself out of it. "I didn't want to hurt your  
feelings... I would've told you but... I couldn't figure out whether I  
was one way or the other... but..."   
  
Sora was laughing. Bitter, hate-filled laughter. "Didn't want  
to hurt my feelings, huh? Well you have!" She spun back around to glare  
at me, tears running freely down her cheeks. "You could've just told me  
you weren't interested from the start and figured it out on your own,  
you didn't have to drag me down with you!"   
  
I reached out to put a hand on her shoulder. "Sora I..."   
  
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" She shrieked, pulling away from me. "Just  
stay away from me..." She turned and ran off.   
  
I just stood there watching her back as she ran. "I'm sorry...  
Sora."  
  
*******  
  
Things have gotten better between us, and we're friends  
again - she's gotten her revenge. You see, about a week later, she  
came to me, and asked me who it was. She said that it was the only  
thing still really bothering her about the situation. She wanted to  
know who it was.  
  
So I told her... I guess I should've just said that it was a  
feeling I had, and no one in particular. But I'm the first to admit  
that I'm not too bright all the time. Actually, Izzy's the first to  
admit that, but that's not important.  
  
So what did she do? She asked him out, and now they're dating.  
When I asked her why she did it, she asked me to let her have her minor  
revenge, so I did - I can just hope they'll break up.  
  
I guess you can all tell who I'm talking about by now, huh?  
Yup, I'm in love with my best friend, music sensation Ishida Yamato.  
Sora's blond haired, blue-eyed beauty. I'm not jealous, I swear.  
  
Anyway, I was talking about my dream. We'd only been in the  
Digital World for a short period of time, actually, it was more like a  
month, but we were there for a long time. Short in comparison. So, I  
have this dream one night. In the dream I was running around the house  
frantic trying to find myself something nice to wear, and Kari-chan was  
following me around trying to help me out.   
  
The doorbell rang, and I frantically turned to Kari, She  
pointed to a long sleeved navy blue shirt, then grinned brightly and  
offered to answer the door for me. I nodded, and told her to tell  
whoever it was (because though the dream me seemed to know who it was,  
I didn't have a clue, I just knew they were important.) So I pulled on  
the blue shirt Kari'd pointed out over my black pants, she always  
claimed I looked the best in blue, she still does, and ran down the  
hall to the door.  
  
"Hey Matt!" I said brightly. He was wearing a black shirt and a  
pair of blue jeans. The first few buttons of the shirt were undone, and  
his hair was longish. That was when I first realized that in the dream,  
we were older. Not by much, only a year or two. Glancing at Kari, I  
realized that she was older as well.   
  
"Hey, ready to go?" I nodded, and hooked my arm through his.  
  
"Bye mom! I'll be home around eleven."  
  
"Ten thirty, Tai."  
  
"See you at eleven." I heard her sigh as I shut the door behind  
us.  
  
We went to see a movie. It wasn't some chick flick, like  
someone would expect me to go see with my date, no, we went to see the  
new Space Invaders movie (thinking of it now, I have no clue what Space  
Invaders is, but I knew in the dream). The next thing I knew we were in  
a restaurant (I don't think we actually went there, but it was a dream,  
it didn't have to make sense). Matt ordered a stirfry - I've always  
wondered if her really does like that, maybe I'll ask him sometime.  
  
After dinner, he walked me back home. We went up to my  
apartment, and I told him that I'd invite him in, but I was going to  
get a lecture about coming home late, and he probably didn't need to  
hear it. He laughed, and we kissed, and I went in. Luckily, I woke up  
before the lecture came.  
  
I know, you're probably thinking. THAT freaked you out!? But I  
was a kid, that was as far as my mind chose to take our relationship, I  
didn't know anything about... well... at the time I had no clue how sex  
between guys worked, so there wasn't going to be anything perverse in  
there (although, I'll have you know that I know now, and my dreams are  
FAR more interesting than that one was.)  
  
Anyway, all that doesn't really matter. You see, I said I'd  
been watching Matt a long time, right? Well, during all that time,  
Matt's band was gaining popularity, and he went on tour (no  
kidding). I haven't seen him in 6 months... 7 maybe... I'm bad with  
time.  
  
He's coming back in a week, and his band's having a concert,  
all the Digidestined are going to it. TK and Sora are both really  
looking forward to it. I am too, but I'm not sure how much I want to  
see Sora and Matt's reunion first hand, maybe I'll quietly find  
somewhere else to be at that point...  
  
*******  
  
Anytime you want to be right here  
Just imagine me and all this will appear  
  
*******  
  
"Tai! When're you leaving?"   
  
I glance down at my watch before dragging myself up off the  
couch. "Now." I call down the hall.   
  
Kari runs into the room to assess what I'm wearing. "You look  
great Oniichan!" She says brightly as always.   
  
I can't help but glance down at myself self-consciously. A blue shirt  
Sora'd bought me for Christmas last year, a pair of almost black jeans,  
and the crest of courage around my neck. Mimi'd gotten into making  
jewellery a few years ago, and had made us all silver replicas of our  
crests.  
  
"Thanks." I say to her, forcing a half smile.   
  
She gives me a sympathetic look, and a hug. "It'll turn out  
ok." She promises me.   
  
This time, my smile's sincere. "It'd better."   
  
She smiles brightly and nods her agreement. Then she runs off  
to get changed into something nicer.   
  
I slide my shoes on and head for the front door. "Bye Mom, I'll  
be home around eleven."   
  
My mother pokes her head into the room. "Ten thirty, Tai."  
  
"See you around eleven, mom." I wince as I shut the door behind  
me. That particular dialog's a bit too familiar, and tends to bring up  
thoughts I'd rather not think, especially not tonight.  
  
I let myself out of the apartment building and head down the  
street. Tonight's the night I've been dreading for weeks. Tonight's the  
night I finally get to see Matt again, which is good. There's just one  
problem with the whole situation. This is the first time any of us will  
see Matt since he left, including Sora.   
  
It all adds up to me having to see Matt and Sora's big reunion.  
I can't even claim I don't have the money to go to the concert, Matt  
sent us all free tickets. It figures.  
  
So, I walk down the street to Izzy's, shoulders hunched, trying  
not to think about Matt, and the thoughts that thinking about Matt  
always brought on. I'm going to the concert with Izzy and Sora, the  
other two dateless ones. The newer Digidestined are all going together,  
which is why I left before Kari, and Joe and Mimi are going together,  
of course. Joe and Mimi have been going out longer than Matt and Sora.  
I'm pretty sure that it was Mimi who asked Joe out because he had grown  
up to be good looking, and besides, he was going to be a doctor, so  
he'd be rich. That's the way Mimi's relationships always start out.  
She's kind of shallow that way, but she's smart enough to never let a  
relationship like that last too long. I guess Joe grew on here, because  
it's the longest Mimi's ever gone out with someone as long as I've  
known her.  
  
It's only a short walk from my house to Izzy's, so it didn't  
take long to get there, and head up the walk to his house. Izzy flew  
out before I could even reach the door.  
  
"Bye Mom!" He calls over his shoulder before closing the door.  
  
I raise an eyebrow. "What's that all about?"   
  
Izzy shakes his head. "Mom's in protective mode... she didn't  
want me to leave until she knew exactly when I'd be home, but how am I  
supposed to even estimate that when I don't know how long the concert  
will be or how long our reunion with Matt will take?" Izzy sighs. "She  
asks too much of me sometimes." I shake my head. For some reason, I'm  
sure Izzy's mom had only wanted a guess, and wouldn't have minded if he  
was late, but that's Izzy for you.  
  
He looks a lot like he had back when we were all living in the  
digital world, an orange shirt and a pair of brown pants. It's not  
something he wears often, but I have to admit, orange really does suit  
him, you wouldn't think so, with his red hair. It took me a minute to  
notice something else.  
  
"Izzy... why are you taking your laptop to a concert?"   
  
Izzy shrugs. "Something to do."   
  
I sigh. I firmly believe that Izzy has no concept of the word  
'fun'.   
  
We head over to Sora's next, and pick her up. She's practically  
bouncing. Then again, this is her first time to see Matt in a long  
time, and unlike me, she has nothing to worry about. So she rambles on  
about how much she's looking forward to seeing Matt again, and how much  
she's missed him. It's funny. Even though their relationship was only  
started because Sora wanted to get back at me, Sora really did end up  
falling for Matt. It's kinda sweet, I guess. Her falling for the best  
friend of the guy who rejected her. Like one of those things you'd find  
in those books girls like. And no, I don't read them, Kari just tells  
me about them  
  
We finally reach the club and head in. Izzy and I find  
ourselves a table near the wall so Izzy can plug in his laptop, and  
Sora heads off to talk to Mimi and Joe. Izzy glances at them before  
plugging in his laptop and typing away. I tap my fingers on the table  
in beat to the music pounding out of the speakers, trying not to think  
of Matt. He stops typing for a minute.  
  
"Hey, Tai?"   
  
I glance over at him. "Yeah?"   
  
He looks up from his computer screen to look at me quizzically.  
"Are you looking forward to seeing Matt again?"   
  
I laugh nervously. "Gee Izzy, what do you think? Of course I'm  
looking forward to it."   
  
He raises an eyebrow. "Even with him and Sora being together  
again?"   
  
I wince. Izzy's the only person to figure me out without me  
telling. I told Sora, I told Kari, but Izzy guessed. They're the only  
three who know (I think).  
  
"No. You know how I feel man, it kills me to watch that."   
  
Izzy nods, and looks back down at his screen. "I know what you mean."   
  
I blink in surprise, then narrow my eyes. "What aren't you  
telling me Izzy?"   
  
Izzy blushes but continues to stare at his screen, typing away.  
I look past him at the other Digidestined. He very pointedly has his  
back to them.  
  
"Is it Mimi?"   
  
Izzy sticks out his tongue and shakes his head. This makes me  
laugh, it's quite the expression.   
  
I get serious again almost as quickly as I'd started laughing.  
"Joe then?"   
  
Izzy sighs. "Yeah..." he says, kind of wistfully.   
  
I wince. He's as bad off as I am, I'm almost positive Joe has  
no interest whatsoever in other guys.  
  
"I'm sorry..."   
  
Izzy shrugs. "There's nothing you can do about it... but that's  
why I brought my laptop, so I wouldn't end up watching them."   
  
I nod, then grin, trying to lighten the mood. "Got any games on  
there?"   
  
Izzy glances up at me, surprised.   
  
I shrug "You know you aren't the only one who could use a  
distraction. Though I'll have you know that once the concert starts  
I'll be staring at the stage."   
  
Izzy grins at me, and begins listing off the different games he  
had stored on his computer.  
  
*******  
  
You can keep this moment all your life  
Forever near... a dream worth keeping  
  
*******  
  
Mimi and Joe came over to say hi, but left after awhile. Izzy  
wasn't being very social with them, but who could blame him? The  
younger digidestined came in - actually, a security guard came in  
looking for me asking if TK was really Matt's brother and if it was  
really ok him and the others to be in club, despite their age. They  
claimed that I was charged with watching them, so they came to me. A  
lot of people know who I am, being Matt's best friend. He even thanked  
me on his CD, I got a whole line or two "Thank you to Kamiya Taichi, my  
best friend, I don't know what I would've done without you for all  
those years, I love you man." Yeah, love you too... and that's the  
problem. I'm being bitter, sorry.  
  
I sigh, and Izzy narrows his eyes at me.  
  
"You're thinking about Matt again." He informs me.   
  
I nod. "I'm trying not to!"   
  
Izzy nods sympathetically. "I know." That's the great thing  
about Izzy. I know he knows, and that he understands. There are times  
when I think that he's probably a closer friend to me than Matt or  
Sora.   
  
"And now introducing... Ishida Yamato!!"   
  
I cheer along with the rest of the crowd, and wait for the  
lights on the stage to come on. I'm not too sure exactly how Matt's  
band was reduced to just him. It's all the same members, but the only  
person anyone seems to know is Matt. The lights come on, and my  
attention is drawn to the boy on the stage.   
  
The first thing I notice is that Matt's hair's gotten even  
longer, probably long enough now that he could tie it back if he  
wanted, almost shoulder length. He's dressed in a dark green shirt with  
the first few buttons undone, probably because it has the same effect  
on most girls as it does on me, and a pair of black pants. His voice  
and music style are still the same as they were the last time I went to  
one of his concerts. I smile, and lean back in my chair, taking it all  
in.  
  
Izzy sighs. "I guess I may as well start up solitaire, huh?"   
  
I glance away from the stage long enough to catch his eye and  
shrug. "Can't say I didn't warn you." I say, winking.   
  
Izzy nods, and goes back to his laptop.  
  
*******  
  
When you're feeling lost I'll be your star  
Just reach out and touch me no matter where you are  
  
*******  
  
The concert goes on, there are some songs that I recognize, and  
some that are new to me, but they're all sung by Matt, and he never  
leaves the stage, so it doesn't really matter to me. They start a   
slow song, and Sora appears from the crowd.  
  
"Hey Tai!"   
  
I glance away from the stage to look at her. "Yeah?"   
  
She reaches over and grabs my wrist, dragging me to my feet.  
"Come dance with me!" She pulls me onto the dance floor, and I sigh,  
but go along with it. She stops somewhere in the middle, and wraps her  
arms around my neck, leaning her head on my shoulder. She's silent for  
a moment, and then she sighs. "The only problem with dating Matt is  
that he's always on the stage when we go to concerts."  
  
"Yeah, I guess."   
  
Sora shakes her head, and looks up at me. "I'm sorry... I guess  
I'm kind of rubbing it in."   
  
I smile at her. "Only a little."   
  
She sighs, and leans her head back on my shoulder. "I'm just  
happy, sorry Tai... I don't mean to do it to you... you know I'm not  
mad anymore." I nod. "I mean, you're my best friend, I really have no  
right to do this to you... I know how I'd feel if it was the other way  
around."   
  
I nod again, and she sighs, and goes silent. I take the  
opportunity to glance up at the stage again, and for the first time all  
night, Matt's looking right at me. Unfortunately, he looks like he's  
about ready to jump off the stage and start killing people, in that  
subtle way Matt has of looking like that.  
  
It takes me a minute to realize that he's probably glaring  
because I'm slow dancing with his girlfriend. I give him a hopeless  
look and shrug the best I can without hitting Sora in the head. He  
looks a bit confused for a moment, then he grins at me and winks. I  
grin back, and he turns his attention back to the rest of the crowd. I  
sigh and lean my head against Sora's. It's going to be a very long  
night.  
  
The song finally ends, and another slow one starts. I tell Sora  
I'll see her later, and head back to my table with Izzy. Kari stops me  
on the way.  
  
"Dance with me?" She asks, almost hopefully. I raise an  
eyebrow, and she sighs. "Yolei finally conned Ken into dancing with  
her, Davis is dancing with TK - I wonder about those two sometimes -  
Cody's talking with Izzy about some complex stuff that I didn't  
understand, so I'm left all on my lonesome." She gives me her best  
pathetic look, and I sigh, offering her my hand. As much as I'd rather  
go and sit down with Izzy, I don't think I want to leave my fourteen  
year-old sister alone on the dance floor in some bar.  
  
So we dance, and she asks how hard the night's been on me so  
far. I should've known she had an ulterior motive.  
  
"Ok, I guess. Nothing too bad's happened, and Sora's being  
really nice. I'm just glad I have Izzy to hang out with, I'd be kind of  
lonely otherwise."   
  
She nods sympathically, I seem to be getting a lot of sympathy  
today. "Well, the concert should be over soon, so you don't have too  
much more to get through, and then you and Matt can go back to being  
friends, and you don't have to dread seeing him again anymore."   
  
I nod in agreement, and look up at the stage, Matt's still up  
there in centre stage, paying attention to his admirers. It guess it is  
best for him to watch them instead of us, that way he doesn't get  
distracted, but I still wish he'd look my way sometime when I'm not   
with Sora.  
  
*******  
  
In a world where precious things are disappearing over night  
Just keep my star in sight  
  
*******  
  
After dancing with Kari, I spent the rest of the concert  
sitting at the table with Izzy, and his habit of teasing me whenever I  
stared at the stage for too long, but at least I had something to hold  
over his head too. I glance into the crowd and make up things for Joe  
to be doing, and look real interested in it. I've never had Izzy  
actually try to hurt me before. It was strange. But finally, the  
concert came to an end, and we got to make use of our backstage passes.  
  
"MATT!!" TK flings himself at his older brother, and Matt hugs  
him back enthusiastically. I can't help but smile at that. I can just  
imagine not seeing Kari for as long as Matt and TK have been apart, our  
reunion would be much the same.   
  
Sora jumps him once TK's moved, and I look away, but their  
reunion's not as bad as I thought it would be.   
  
Next it's my turn. To hug or not to hug? I figure I'll probably  
melt or something if I actually hug him, so I'm going for the friendly  
friend approach, and he hugs me. So much for the not melting idea. We  
greet each other, and are generally friendly, it's all a blur to me.  
I'm still stuck on the fact *he* hugged *me*, and not the other way around.   
  
The rest of the Digidestined finished saying their hellos to  
him, and I notice Sora looking kind of hopeful, she gives me a look. I  
nod, and turn to Matt.   
  
"Well, I guess we'd all better leave you and Sora to say your  
hellos to each other." I say, winking at Matt. He grins.   
  
I'm proud of myself, it's not until after I turn to leave that  
I show any signs of that having hurt me. Izzy puts his arm around my  
waist, it would've been a friendly arm around the shoulders, but Izzy's  
kind of short, and I force a smile. We head back out to our table to  
wait for Matt and Sora to come back out so we can go home. It's after  
midnight already, my only hope is that my Mom's gone to bed, otherwise  
I'm dead not only for staying out so late, but for keeping Kari out  
with me.   
  
By the time anyone comes out from backstage, it's just me and  
Izzy at the table, everyone else had found their way back onto the  
dance floor at some point. I'm leaning over his shoulder to look at  
another one of his games when Sora comes out from backstage.  
  
What I see shocks me.  
  
She's not the happy, bouncy Sora I was expecting to see, and  
she's not with Matt. She has tears running down her cheeks, and looks  
worse than she did the day I told her I wasn't interested. She sees  
Izzy and I, and I brace myself just in time to keep from falling over  
as she flings herself into my arms, burying her head in my shoulder. I  
let her cry for a minute, and then gently nudge her away. By this time,  
most of the other Digidestined, old and new, have gathered around us.  
Matt's standing just in front of the door in from backstage.  
  
"Sora..." She sniffles, and glances up at me. "What happened?"  
  
  
She sniffles again, and shudders. "M... Matt... he... he." She  
chokes on another sob, and buries her face in my shoulder. "He doesn't  
want to be my boyfriend anymore." She whispers to me.   
  
I swallow, and glance over at Matt. "Why not?" I ask her  
softly, keeping my eyes on Matt.   
  
She shrugs, but doesn't say anything, she just keeps crying. I  
carefully push her away, and push her lightly towards Izzy, who she  
clings to. I glare at Matt, and head over to him.  
  
*******  
  
I believe we've found a dream that's worth keeping  
For more than just a day  
And even though the winds of change may come sweeping  
It's still a dream worth keeping  
Don't let it fade away  
  
*******  
  
I know I've gone on about how much I care about Matt, and I  
really do care about Matt as much as I say I do, but Sora's one of my  
closest friends, and no one, not even Matt, is allowed to hurt her like  
I did. She doesn't deserve that.   
  
I walk over to Matt, and glare at him for a long moment. Then I  
slug him, right across the side of his face. His eyes widen in  
surprise, and he stumbles back into the door, one hand to his cheek.  
Two security guards are on me in less than ten seconds, but I don't  
care. NO ONE hurts my friends like that, not even Matt.  
  
"Let him go." Matt says, softly, quite obviously angry at me,  
but trying not to let anyone else know.   
  
The two security guards look fairly confused, but they let me  
go and move back. I look over at Matt, his hand's still on the side of  
his face, and he's glaring at me openly. I can feel the other  
Digidestined's eyes on my back.   
  
I take a shaky breath. "What the HELL do you think you're  
doing?" I growl at Matt, trying not to let myself see him as Matt, but  
as someone who just hurt Sora.  
  
"It's none of your business, Tai." Matt tells me, his eyes  
narrowed. "So butt out."   
  
I shake my head. "It is my business, Matt. Sora's my friend,  
and she doesn't deserve this, especially without an explanation."   
  
Matt looks like he's having trouble talking. He pauses. "You  
don't know what you're talking about, Tai..." he says softly, his voice  
shaking. I blink, that wasn't what I'd been expecting. "Do you think I  
WANTED to hurt Sora like this?"   
  
I turn and glance at Sora, who's still crying, but has moved  
away from Izzy. I turn back to Matt. "Then give her a reason, Matt..."   
  
He shakes his head, and looks more pathetic than I'd thought  
Matt was capable of looking. "I... I can't..." He says, then turns and  
runs backstage.   
  
I shake my head, then turn back to the others and sigh. "I'll  
be back in a minute."   
  
Sora shakes her head. "I'm coming too." I smile, and shake my  
head back at her. She glares at me through her tears. "Tai... you're  
doing this for me... I want to be there for it."   
  
I nod slowly, and she walks over to stand with me. Izzy doesn't  
say anything but comes over and stands with us. I nod. "We'll be back  
in a bit." The others nod, and we turn and walk backstage.  
  
"Excuse me... have you seen Ishida Yamato?" I ask the first  
person who walks by.   
  
She points down the hall the way she'd come. "Yeah, he ran by  
me down the hall, he seemed pretty upset about something."   
  
I nod. "Thank you!" I call, and run down the hall in that  
direction, with Sora and Izzy close behind.   
  
*******  
  
Maybe you'll be in some distant land  
Feeling all alone, but I'll be close at hand  
  
*******  
  
It doesn't take us very long to find Matt, he's sitting in the  
hallway with his head on his knees, shaking. We stop, and stare at him  
for a long moment.   
  
I take a deep breath and kneel down beside him."Matt... are  
you ok?"   
  
He blindly reaches out to hit me and misses. "Get lost, Tai."   
  
I bite my lip. That's one of those lines I don't need to hear,  
ever... not from Matt. I shake my head, though I know he can't see me.  
"Matt..."   
  
He looks up at me and glares, he's got tear-streakson his face,  
but he isn't crying anymore. "I SAID GET LOST!" He yells.   
  
I wince, and I hear Izzy come up behind me. I can tell it's  
Izzy because Sora's wearing heels, which clack when she walks.  
  
"Matt... Tai's just trying to help you... he's your friend."  
  
  
Matt glowers at Izzy. "I don't NEED a friend."   
  
"That's funny... coming from you of all people." We all turn to  
look at Sora. She still looks very upset, but she seems to be doing a  
bit better. "Matt... if something's wrong... please, tell us. We're  
your friends, we'll help you out."   
  
I turn my attention back to Matt who's still staring over at  
Sora. He looks at me, and then back down at his knees. "I can't..."   
  
I frown. "Why not?"   
  
He closes his eyes, and leans his head against his knees.  
"Because..." He's speaking so softly I can barely even hear him. "If I  
tell you guys... you might not WANT to be my friends anymore..."   
  
I blink. I can't think of any reason why I wouldn't want to be  
Matt's friend.   
  
"What do you mean 'we wouldn't want to be your friends  
anymore'?" Izzy asks him.   
  
Matt shakes his head. "You guys mean so much to me... I...  
can't risk it..."   
  
I sigh. It's one of Matt's rare emotional moments, and not the  
first one that I've seen. "Matt... you have no idea of how much it  
would take to make us hate you." I shake my head. "I don't think I'm  
capable of hating you... you're my best friend, and there's probably  
nothing that can change that." Unless he would ask me out... but that's  
not going to happen.  
  
"Thanks, Tai, it's good to know that." He takes a deep  
breath. "Ok... I'll tell you then."   
  
I nod, and wait for him to begin, whenever he's ready.  
  
*******  
  
tbc... 


	2. Part 2

A Dream Worth Keeping: Part 2  
by Minako  
  
Well, I most definitely do not own Digimon, though I'm quite  
the fangirl, so I don't own Taichi or anyone. (damn, too bad)  
  
The song a Dream Worth Keeping is performed by Sheena Easton in  
the movie Ferngully, pretty scene too ^_^  
  
I gave up on sticking with one name, Japanese or English, so  
deal with it ^_^ This is a buncha different pairings all at once,  
Taito mainly - we'll stick with Taito as the theme ^_^  
  
*******  
  
And every time you see a rainbow paint the sky behind the rain  
You'll be here again  
  
*******  
  
"Do... do you remember how my band replaced its drummer awhile  
ago?" Matt asks.   
  
I blink, it seems completely irrelevant to me, but I guess Matt  
can tell his story however he wants to.   
  
"Yeah, we remember." Izzy says, speaking for all of us.   
  
Matt nods, then stares up at the ceiling, as if reminiscing. "I  
told him... what I'm about to tell you guys, because while we were on  
the road... he was my closest friend." Matt shakes his head. "He quit  
the band the same night, because of this... that's why I didn't want to  
tell you guys about it, I was worried you'd leave too." He takes a  
shaky breath. "Do you guys know how many girlfriends I've had since  
this band started?" He asks, once again, a question that doesn't seem  
important to the situation, but I guess it'll all add up when he's  
finished.   
  
The others are silent, so I speak up. "Three, including Sora."  
  
Matt looks over at me, somewhat surprised, and I shrug. He  
doesn't need to know the agony I went through every second of each of  
those relationships, including the one with Sora.  
  
"Yeah... that's right. Three in the past three years. You can  
add to that the time in between, you know, getting over it."   
  
I nod. "So?"   
  
Matt gives my impatience a knowing smile. He knows that waiting  
for people to get to the point kills me. I think this is his payback  
for me hitting him. "I've never stayed in a relationship for over a  
year." I shrug, I still can't figure out what this has to do with Matt  
running down that hall crying after breaking up with Sora, unless he's  
trying to make a trend. He shakes his head again. "It took me a long  
time while on tour to figure out why that is. It was bothering me." He  
glances over at Sora. "It had almost been a year after all, and it  
occurred to me that I'd never celebrated a one-year anniversary with  
either of my other two girlfriends. It took a long time for me to  
realize why." He takes another shaky breath.   
  
"Take your time Matt... don't rush it if it hurts."   
  
Matt forces a smile. "Thanks Izzy, but I'm ok." The smile  
disappears much quicker than it showed up. "I don't like girls... at  
all. I mean, I have friends who are girls, and I like them, but I don't  
*like* girls, you know what I mean?" I nod. I know all about this,  
better than he will ever know. "I think... I think I'm gay."   
  
I nod again, and silence follows.  
  
Oh, he's done. I start to laugh, I can't help it. After a  
moment, Izzy joins in. Matt spends a shocked moment staring at us, then  
stands up and drags me to my feet by my shirt collar, holding me up  
high enough that I have to stand on my tiptoes to stand at all. I hate  
being short.  
  
"What do you think you're laughing at, huh Tai?"   
  
I force my breathing to go back to normal, only because Matt  
doesn't know why Izzy and I find this amusing. "Matt... don't worry  
about it!"   
  
His eyes widen, and he puts me down, releasing my shirt. "What?"   
  
I shake my head. "It's no big deal, there's no way in hell we'd  
hate you for it. I mean, c'mon, look at Izzy!"   
  
Matt turns to look at Izzy, who's now turned beet red. "Izzy?"  
Matt asks. "I had no idea."  
  
"TAI!! Who gave you permission to tell my personal secrets!?"   
  
I laugh nervously, and take a step back. "C'mon Izzy... we're  
supposed to be making Matt feel better... it's not-"  
  
"TAI!!! That-" Izzy's cut off by Sora, who's broken out into  
sobs again.   
  
"Sora... are you ok?" I ask her, I can see Matt cringing out of  
the corner of my eye.  
  
"What is it with the digidestined guys being gay!? All three of  
you! This is TWICE this kind of thing has happened to me! TWICE!!" She  
wails.   
  
I wince.   
  
"Twice?" Matt asks hesitantly.  
  
"Yes, you AND Tai have done this to me now." She moans  
  
"TAI!?" Matt asks, more than a little bit surprised.  
  
"SORA!"   
  
She grins at me through her tears, and sticks out her tongue.  
"That's for telling secrets about Izzy."   
  
I narrow my eyes. "Why you..." I shake my fist at her, but I'm  
glad she's smiling, even if Matt now knows my secret, besides, it could  
be worse, he could know how I feel about him in particular.  
  
"But *I* wanted revenge on Tai." Izzy whines from behind me.  
  
"GUYS!" I yell, turning so I can see all three of them at once.  
  
Sora grins. "Then take your revenge on Tai, he won't mind, will  
you Tai?"  
  
Izzy grins evilly.  
  
"For some reason I don't see this ending happily for me." I say  
sadly, though I know there's nothing I can do to keep Izzy from  
talking. I have this sinking feeling that things are about to get  
significantly worse...  
  
*******  
  
I believe we've found a dream that's worth keeping  
For more than just a day  
And even though the winds of change may come sweeping  
It's still a dream worth keeping  
So don't let it fade away  
  
*******  
  
"Well... let's see... what to tell to who..." He looks over at  
Matt with a mischievous look on his face.   
  
I freeze. "Don't you DARE, Izzy."   
  
He feigns innocence. "Don't I dare what? Tell Matt just who you  
have in mind?"   
  
I can feel myself turning red. Izzy wouldn't do that to me...  
he couldn't do that to me... yet he can, and he might, and that's why  
I'm afraid.  
  
"Who?" Matt asks, completely confused. I moan.  
  
"Izzy... that is kind of mean."   
  
Izzy frowns. "Is it?"   
  
I nod in agreement. "Sora's right, it is a bit much... I mean,  
if I was to march out there and have a long talk with Joe, then I could  
understand it but..." Whoops.  
  
"Joe?" Matt asks. "Hey, I didn't know you had a thing for Joe,  
Izzy, but isn't he dating Mimi still?"   
  
Izzy turns to me, glowering. "Oh, it's not that bad." He says  
still looking at me, a sadistic smile on his face. When you get down to  
it, I think Izzy may be the most frightening person I know. "I mean, I  
could be Tai." I shake my head at him. He doesn't look away, he just  
keeps smiling at me. "I mean, Tai's been in love with the same person  
for, what is it now, Tai?"   
  
I sigh. "Five or six years, give or take... and I was in denial  
for a lot of that."   
  
Matt smiles at me. "That's sweet."   
  
I shake my head. "No, it's torture." I can't help but inform  
him. "My advice for you is not to fall for any straight people."   
  
Matt nodds. "Yeah, that would suck... oh, you mean... sorry  
Tai."   
  
I shake my head. "It could be worse, he could still have a  
girlfriend." I point out.  
  
"I don't think he means anything cruel by that, Sora." Izzy  
tells her.  
  
"Oh, I know he doesn't." Sora says, trying not to cry.  
  
"Why would that be mean to Sora?" Matt asks, obviously confused  
again. I look back to Izzy.  
  
"I'm not going to actually tell him... now, if you'd actually  
talked to Joe on the other hand..."   
  
I smile, relief evident on my face.  
  
"C'mon, who is it? We're friends, aren't we, and if Sora and  
Izzy already know..."   
  
I glare at Izzy, who smiles back at me. He knows how hard it is  
for me not to do something for Matt if he asks. Izzy had been there  
when I'd helped Matt with his assignment all night. I'd gone to school  
with all my homework unfinished the next day. I'd had to stand in the  
hall.  
  
"I HATE you Izzy."   
  
Izzy shakes his head. "No you don't."   
  
I sigh.   
  
"C'mon Tai, just tell me, it's not that big a deal."   
  
I can feel my face turning even redder. I didn't think that was  
possible anymore, but apparently it is.  
  
*******  
  
Someday you might be thinking  
That life has passed you by  
  
*******  
  
I pause for a moment and really think about it. What do I have  
to lose? My best friend? I'd still have Izzy and Sora, and he's gone  
touring so much anyway, he isn't around most of the time. My childhood  
crush? I'm probably better off without it. I guess it's time I faced  
the music. I swallow my fear and turn to Matt.  
  
Man, he's gorgeous. My words are lost in my throat for a long  
moment. Then I find them again.  
  
"Fine... I'll tell you Matt."   
  
Matt smiles. "See, it's not that bad."  
  
"That's easy for you to say." Sora points out. "It's your turn  
next." She informs him with a grin.   
  
Matt turns red, but a far lighter shade than I am. More of a  
pink, really. "What makes you think I have someone in mind?"   
  
Sora puts on her best 'well, now I'm crushed' look. "You  
mean... you just dumped me on a FEELING... not because you felt I was  
in the way of your true love?" She sniffles.  
  
"NO! It's not like that!"   
  
She smiles again. "So you DO have someone in mind then?"   
  
Matt returns to looking uncomfortable. "Ummm... we don't want  
to talk about that, especially not in present company."   
  
Sora raises an eyebrow. I'm getting the idea she knows  
something I don't.   
  
"Sora, leave Matt alone, I think the suspense is killing Tai."   
  
It was then that I realized I'd been holding my breath all that  
time. I let it out and started breathing again.  
  
"Right, go on ahead, Tai." Sora says to me, giving me an  
encouraging smile.  
  
Courage... courage... I grip the crest around my neck and close  
my eyes, this is one time where I can't bear to look at Matt, even  
given the opportunity.  
  
"I... I..." I swallow again. This is harder than I'd ever  
dreamed it would be... 'C'mon Tai, you have a chance in hell now, so  
take it before someone else does.' I look up at Matt, then quickly look  
down. That one look almost shattered my courage. Courage, my crest...  
this should be ok - it'll be ok.  
  
"I... I..." I take a shaky breath. "I... I love you...Matt."  
There I said it, now all I want is a corner to go die in.   
  
*******  
  
Your spirits might be sinking  
With hope in short supply  
  
*******  
  
The silence seems to last forever - it's killing me. I wish he  
would say something, anything. All I can see in my head is Matt going  
'Me? Oh gods Tai, that's so... weird... you're my best friend, I could  
never go out with you, but now it'll be too uncomfortable... I guess  
the best route for us is to never see each other again, bye!' and  
whatever he actually has to say has got to be better than that.  
  
"... me?"   
  
I nod. I know that if I speak I'll cry, and I'm too afraid to  
actually look up at him. I don't want to see his face, yet at the same  
time, I desperately do. I stare at his shoes, wishing his feet would  
give me some signal on the way he's feeling right now.  
  
I almost jump as a hand touches my chin, and tries to make me  
look up. I fight it. I don't want to look at Matt yet, I'm not ready!  
Generally, between Matt and I, I'm the stronger. As I've heard Kari put  
it before, I play a lot of soccer. Matt's more the stay indoors and  
read a book type. Matt's just bigger than me. Unfortunately, that's  
generally, and my chin is not stronger than Matt's arm. He forces my  
face up to look at his. I close my eyes.  
  
"Tai..."   
  
I can't tell if he's happy or pitying me. I keep my eyes  
closed. I don't want to see pity in his eyes. I want... I want...  
  
"Open your eyes Tai."   
  
I shake my head.  
  
"Do it Tai." Izzy sounds... surprised, I guess.   
  
Slowly I do. I'll kill Izzy if I regret this.  
  
Matt has gorgeous eyes. They're a deep shade of blue, not the  
kind that you hear about it books, where you can 'see yourself in their  
deep pools.' Just beautiful dark blue that seems to go on forever.  
Usually, Matt's eyes give him away. But this time, I don't know. I  
can't tell if what I'm seeing is really there, or if my mind's just  
making things up.   
  
And we stand there, staring at each other. I find myself  
wondering just what Matt's looking for. He closes his eyes after a long  
moment, and then opens them again, and he smiles at me. I don't even  
have time to get over that smile before he's kissing me. Hesitantly at  
first, then less so. His arm drops from my chin to wrap around me. I  
can't think.  
  
I've never kissed anyone before, well, except for my parents  
and my sister, but they don't count. That's a different kind of kiss. I  
honestly don't know what to do. Slowly, so he won't move away, I hug  
him back, and I hope that whatever I'm doing, I'm doing it right.   
  
After a long moment, Matt pulls back, and leans his forehead  
against mine. We're both breathless.  
  
Sora coughs, ruining our moment. "Ummm... I think it's Matt's  
turn to tell us all who he likes." She says. I glance at her, and she's  
smiling sadly. Izzy just looks surprised, standing just beside her,  
with a comforting hand on her shoulder.  
  
"I love you too, Tai." Matt says. I've heard him say it to me  
so many times in my dreams, but that was so much different. In my  
dreams it was almost casual, like it was something he said to me all  
the time. But now... now it had more meaning in it than anything I'd  
ever heard before.  
  
I take a step back, and smile at him. Matt looks confused, and  
hurt; he hasn't reached the same conclusion I just did.  
  
"You know, given the circumstances, Matt, I think we should  
probably respect the fact that you just broke Sora's heart."   
  
Guilt washes over his face. "Sora... I..."   
  
Sora shakes her head and smiles at us. "Go on." She says,  
sighing.  
  
"Really?" Matt asks, obviously still worried.   
  
She nods. "Yes, I've tormented Tai enough, and I've known how  
he feels about you for longer than we'd been dating. I think he  
deserves some payback."   
  
I smile. "Thanks, Sora." Then I fling myself back at Matt. I  
can hear Izzy talking to Sora just beside us.  
  
"This is going to take awhile... isn't it?"   
  
*******  
  
And that's the reason why...  
That's the reason why...  
  
*******  
  
Finally, after what was probably a short eternity for Sora, but  
only a brief moment for me, Izzy speaks up.  
  
"A the tone, the time will be exactly 1:30." His laptop makes a  
tone noise, and I pull back from Matt.  
  
"1:30!?!? I am SO dead."   
  
Izzy nods. "When was it you told your mother you'd be home?"   
  
I laugh nervously. "That's... not important."   
  
Izzy shakes his head. "This is why I didn't give my mother a time."   
  
I nod, and Matt takes my hand. "I guess we'd best head out. The  
others are probably wondering if Tai and I have killed each other yet."  
We all laugh, and I drape an arm around Izzy's shoulders, and Matt  
drapes his around Sora before heading down the hall.  
  
"So, what are you guys going to tell them?"   
  
I shrug. "I think we should just let them figure it out on  
their own."  
  
Matt laughs. "TK'll figure it out, probably within ten seconds  
of our arriving."   
  
I nod. "Same thing with Kari."   
  
Matt shrugs. "I think we should just tell them."   
  
I lean my head on Matt's shoulder. "Ok." I smile. *This* is the  
life. We head out the door to a lot of angry and tired Digidestined.  
  
Ok, so maybe it's not the life.  
  
*******  
  
Two months later...  
  
Telling everyone actually went better than I had expected it  
to. Kari and TK were the most happy for us, Joe seemed more than a  
little bit surprised, but then again, Joe spends a lot of his time  
being oblivious. Mimi and Yolei think it's cute, and Iori doesn't  
understand it, but seems pretty much neutral. Daisuke and Ken just said  
they were glad we'd ended up together, in their own ways (Ken said it  
nice and polite, Daisuke jumped me and yelled "Nice going Tai!")  
  
I haven't told my parents yet. I think they'll flip. Dad's the  
one who's always asking me about girlfriends, and Mum's always saying  
things like "Whatever happened to that nice Sora girl?" I'll get up the  
courage to tell them eventually, but right now, they don't need to  
know.   
  
Matt told his dad, and he was happy for us. he ended up telling  
us a story about his boyfriend in college. Turns out he was in love  
with a guy, and then, one day, his boyfriend had told him that it had  
been a phase, and he wasn't interested anymore. So Matt's dad had tried  
to get on with his life, by getting married, which obviously didn't  
work out quite as planned. I feel bad for him... I really hope Matt  
never decides I'm a phase for him. I know that what I feel for Matt is  
more than just some phase.  
  
I saw him off at the airport on Friday night, he's going on  
tour again. I hadn't wanted to go originally, but Matt had conned me  
into it. He wore this gorgeous black shirt, with the first few buttons  
undone, and took me out on a date before we went to the airport. We  
went out to see a movie first, a really good monster movie that just  
came out, and then he took me out for dinner (it turns out he does like  
stir-fry). Then we went to the airport.  
  
I just hope that our multiple goodbye kisses didn't freak out  
too many of his fans...  
  
So now he's gone again, and I just have to wait for him to come  
back to me. And I know he will.  
  
*******  
  
I know this dream's worth keeping  
As long as it will stay  
Even when you've seen the darkness completely  
A dream worth keeping  
Will never fade away...  
  
*******  
  
Four months later...  
  
Matt came out with his new CD, finally, I got it in the mail  
one day. I've really missed him since he went away on tour, and was  
glad to receive anything from him, even if it was just the CD and no  
letter.  
  
This time, instead of a brief message indicating that I was his  
best friend, I got a message that was bit longer. "This is for Kamiya  
Taichi... the best friend I've ever had, and so much more. Thank you  
for having the courage to tell me what you felt when I needed to know  
more than anything. I'll love you forever." I smiled when I read that,  
and I'm looking forward to his visit at Christmas. Touring sucks, I  
miss him so much.   
  
His newest single came out before the CD, but I still hear it  
on the radio a lot. I couldn't believe it when I first heard it. "The  
Courage to Change Friendship." When he comes back, I'll have to ask him  
how he meant that, if it was having the courage to change your  
relationship with someone, or courage that changed friendship,  
referring to our crests. Either way, it's personal.  
  
Me? I've really gotten into writing, though I'm not sure if  
it's really what Mom meant when she said I should find something other  
than soccer... That doesn't matter. Izzy's still pining over Joe, and  
Joe's as oblivious as ever, still dating Mimi. Kari was moping awhile  
ago because apparently TK, Ken, and Davis all decided that it would be  
best for the three of them to be together. All the eligible guys she  
knew, gone in one fell swoop. Her and Yolei hang out a lot and mope  
about it together, so she's getting over it. Sora... Sora's trying to  
move on with her life. Me, her, and Izzy are really close. She still  
hasn't found anyone else, even though it's been six months since  
everything happened between her and Matt. She still can't get over it.  
Poor girl, I know how she feels though, and I try not to talk about our  
relationship around her...   
  
Matt and I are still close, we write letters, and waste a lot  
of money on long distance phone calls, but it's still hard having him  
so far away. He should be coming back in about a month, for a brief  
visit. He says that if they won't let him come back, he's going to  
purposely break his leg so he can come home and I can take care of him.   
  
So, everything seems to have turned out perfectly for me... I'm  
just afraid that one day I'll wake up from the perfect dream I'm  
living, and things will be back to the way they used to be. So don't  
pinch me, because I never want to wake up.  
  
*******  
  
*sigh* cheesy ending. ^_^ I loved writing this... Izzy's my new hero.  
^_^ He's such a jerk... good for him ^_^ Daisuke/TK/Ken!! ^_^ yay!!  
Slash slash!! Maybe I'll write a fic about those three next ^_^ ...  
well, actually, maybe I should do some school work first... failing  
would be a bad idea. Ehe, yeah. I hate writing in the present tense  
though, that almost killed me.. kya... the number of lines I had to go  
back and change...  
C&C are welcome - kind crits are ok, but flames make me cry.   
Revised Nov 3, 02 - I learned proper grammar 


End file.
